V. R. Krishna Iyer

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Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer
V.R.Krishna Iyer.jpg
Personal details
Born (1915-11-15)15 November 1915
Palakkad, Malabar district, Madras Presidency, India
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Kochi, Kerala, India
Nationality Indian
Residence Ernakulam
Religion Hindu

Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer (15 November 1915 – 4 December 2014) was an Indian judge and minister who reformed the Indian criminal justice system, stood up for the poor and the underprivileged, especially,[1][2] and remained a human-rights champion,[3] a crusader for social justice and the environment,[4] and a dozen of civil liberties, throughout life. Also a sports enthusiast and a prolific author,[5] he was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.

Birth and life in politics

Justice Vaidyanathapuram Rama Ayyar Krishna Iyer was born at Palakkad, in the Malabar region of the then Madras State. He studied law from Madras, practising at Thalassery, Malabar.[2] In 1948, when he protested against torture by the police as an interrogation method, he was imprisoned for a month on a fabricated charge of giving legal assistance to communists.[5]

He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952, from Thalassery as a non-party, independent candidate.[2] He became minister of law, justice, home, irrigation, power, prisons, social welfare and inland navigation in the first communist government in Kerala headed by E. M. S. Namboodiripad that came to power in 1957. He initiated legal aid to the poor, jail reforms incorporating the rights of prisoners, and set up more courts and rescue homes for women and children.[2][5] He got several worker and peasant orientated laws passed. He resumed legal practice in August 1959. He lost the 1965 assembly election, which he again contested as an independent candidate.

In office

He was appointed a judge of the Kerala High Court on 2 July 1968. He was a member of the Law Commission from 1971 to 1973 where he drafted a comprehensive report, which would lead to the legal-aid movement in the country.[2] He was elevated as judge of the Supreme Court on 17 July 1973.

In June 1975, the Allahabad High Court had unseated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the Lok Sabha and barred her from it for another six years. Hearing a challenge to this order in the Supreme Court, he was both blamed for granting a conditional stay and praised for refusing an unconditional stay.[6] Interpreting this as losing the popular mandate to rule, the Opposition called for her resignation. The next day she declared a state of Emergency in the country.[7]

A thinker ahead of his time, he would go on to write landmark judgments:

  • Shamsher Singh case which interpreted the powers of the Cabinet with that of the President.
  • Maneka Gandhi case which paved the way to read the plain words "right to life" and "personal liberty", to mean many human rights now, thus expanding Article 21 of the Constitution.[8] That the government of the day cannot put fetters on the rights of citizens,[9] nor, should courts get unduly alarmed,[10] when both of them are reacting to a fear of facing all manner of hostile comment, was what he tersely reminded them:

<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

"Dogs may bark, but the caravan (of justice) passes by"

paraphrasing an immemorial Arab proverb.

  • Muthamma's case, where he broke through the 'glass ceiling' with gender parity in traditional practices in public employment.
  • His lonely crusade against the death penalty would lead to a later bench of the court letting it be imposed only in the "rarest of rare" cases.[14]

He made bail conditions humane and directed the government to provide free legal-aid to detainess in prisons facing charges,[2] once ruling that:[15][16]<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

"Bail is the rule, and jail, the exception"

He believed in correction and not retribution or vindiction in dealing with prisoners. He recommended that meditation methods of Yoga which he practised, and which he observed in the prisons in the Americas and Oceania, could be introduced in the Indian justice system to help transform not just criminal tendencies in prisoners, but also help judges keep their mental poise invoking their higher values to have a better judgement of a case at hand.[17]

Along with Justice P. N. Bhagwati, he laid the foundations for the induction of PILs (Public Interest Litigations) in the country with a series of cases,[18] when in one such case, he treated a prisoner’s letter posted from jail as a writ petition,[19] commenting:[3] <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

"Freedom behind bars is part of our constitutional tryst...If wars are too important to be left to the generals, surely prisoners’ rights are too precious to be left to the jailors"

This revolutionary tool, initially used by public-spirited citizens to file PILs on behalf of sections of society unable to on their own, continues to bring in unheard changes in the day-to-day lives of the people even now, decades later.[20] Observing this, he states:[21] <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

"To transform the Supreme Court of India into the Supreme Court for Indians was the challenge...When the history of the judiciary in India comes to be written, PIL will be glorified as the noblest ally of the little Indian"

Sitting on the bench and away from it, he would reiterate time and again a guiding principle, that: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

"The law of all laws is that the 'rule of law' must keep pace with the 'rule of life'"

by climbing down from its high pedestal, shedding its static and sterile inertia,[22] to ascertain ground realities for meeting the needs[23] and aspirations of the people in an ever changing society.[24]

Public life after office

He retired as a judge, on 14 November 1980. He stood for the nation's President in 1987, as the Opposition's candidate against R. Venkataraman, the ruling Congress's nominee who eventually, would assume office.

In 2002, he inquired into the Gujarat riots as part of a citizens' panel, with retired Justice P. B. Sawant among others. He also headed the Kerala Law Reform Commission in 2009.

Out of public office he continued to advocate the cause of justice on every forum and in his writings, and his house would always remain open, bustling with all who sought his advice.[25]

100th birthday and death

His 100th birthday was celebrated in Kochi in November, 2014 and a number of programmes were organised by members of the legal fraternity, citizenry and his friends and well-wishers to felicitate him. He had been actively involved in social and political life after retirement, almost till a few weeks when ill-health and advancing age took their toll on him.

He died on 4 December 2014.[26][27][28] The state was in attendance at his cremation with his two sons,[29] with a gun salute. [30] Iyer's wife, who would listen to him talk about his work, when on occasion he would change his mind after she gave her opinion on it,[31] had predeceased him.

Books

He has to his credit 70–100 books, mostly on law, and four travelogues. He has also authored a book in Tamil, Neethimandramum Samanvya Manithanum. Wandering in Many Worlds is his autobiography.[31] There are around five published books by other authors about him.


Name of the book Year Publisher
Law and the People 1972 Peoples Publishing House, Rani Jhansi Road, New Delhi.
Law, Freedom and Change 1975 Affiliated East West Press Pvt. Ltd., 5, General Patters Road, Madras
Law India, Some Contemporary Challenges 1976 University College of Law, Nagpur.
Jurisprudence and Juris-Conscience à la Gandhi 1976 Gandhi Peace Foundation, 221/3-Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, New Delhi-2
Social Mission of Law 1976 Orient Longmans Ltd., 160, Anna Salai, Madras-2
Law & Social Change and Indian Overview 1978 Publication Bureau, Punjab University, Chandigarh
Social Justice and the Handicapped Humans 1978 The Academy of Legal Publications, Punnan Road, Trivandrum-695001
The Integral Yoga of Public Law and Development in the Context of India 1979 The Institute of Constitutional & Parliamentary Studies, Vithal Bhai Patel House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi
Of Law & Life 1979 Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 20/4 Industrial Area, Ghaziabad, U.P.
A Constitutional Miscellany 1986 Eastern Book Company
Life After Death[32] 2005 DC Books, Kottayam
Wandering in Many Worlds 2009 Pearson Education
The Indian Law (Dynamic Dimensions of the Abstract) 2009 Universal Law Publishing

Awards and distinctions

  • Soviet Land Nehru Award, 1968.
  • Sri. Jehangir Gandhi Medal and Award for Industrial Peace, 1982.
  • Distinguished Fellow, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi.
  • The Kumarappa – Reckless Award, 1988. (The Indian Society of Criminology) [33]
  • Baba Saheb B.R. Ambedkar National Award by the Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Akademi.
  • Ramasramam Award 1992.
  • Title of 'Living Legend of Law' awarded by the International Bar Association in 1995 in recognition of outstanding service to the legal profession internationally and for commitment to the Rule of Law.
  • M. A. Thomas National Human Rights Award for 1998.[34]
  • Padma Vibhushan Award by the President of India in 1999 (the Highest Award next to Bharath Ratna).
  • Recipient of Vyloppilli Award 1999 for the meritorious service in the fields Human Rights, law, administration etc. The Award was given in February 2000 by the Sahrudaya Vedi, Thrissur.
  • 'The Order of Friendship', by President Putin in October 2000, Russia's high state honour for personal contribution in strengthening the ties of traditional and time-tested friendship, co-operation and everlasting affection between the two nations.[35]

References

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References

  • "Muslim Law- An analysis of the judgments rendered by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer" By. Sebastian Champappilly, Southern Law Publishers, Cochin-22
  • "Muslim Women ( Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act" By Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer, Eastern Book Company, Lucknow.

External links